The Wayne State University student newspaper reports on a play by Jeffrey Steiger “designed to spark conversation and make people aware of their biases.”
Steiger is the program director of the University of Michigan’s Center for Research on Learning and Teaching (CRLT) theater program.
The performance explores the biases faced by a group of women at a tenure meeting with a university science department….
The CRLT Players perform throughout the country, documenting the experiences of those underrepresented in academia.
As an aside, does anyone know of a contest for the most involved, obscure acronym? If so, I have a nominee:
The event is sponsored by or Engineering and Science Careers in Academia Learning from Advance & Translating Effectively (ESCALATE).
Karen Tonso, “co-principal investigator and co-director of the WSU ESCALATE staff,” gave an example (not a co-example?) of the biases about which the play hoped “to spark conversation” and debate: “Comments like, ‘They’re here because of affirmative action’ add an extra burden for women and minorities,” she said.
I agree. And the surest, quickest way to lift that unfair and demeaning burden faced by all successful women and minorities is to eliminate the preferential policies based on race and sex that are in fact responsible for some minorities and women being here and there.
